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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

How Well Can Bears Smell?

I was kidding in the last post about bears eating rigid PVC. Actually what I think happened is I had the bird feeder stocked with a mix of small seed and large oily sunflower seed. He went there first. Then, roaming around, he smelled the same sunflower seed in the vicinity of the storage shed. The storage shed has two separated sections with their own locked entrance door. He knew which one had the sunflower seed that was stored in a small, closed galvanized garbage can. Yes... he could smell through 5/8" wood and then through the galvanized garbage can. He karate chopped through the door and the box of PVC was between the door and the garbage can. The box was tossed outside in short order, and into the garbage can of sunflower seeds he went. So yesterday I took the remaining seed way out into the woods for all to enjoy. No more sunflower seed. No more bird feeders. Yet, sometime during the day today he paid a return visit. Got into the same shed again but left quickly and didn't make too much of a mess.

I found it hard to believe he could smell that well. Several friends I spoke to convinced me bears have an excellent sense of smell. They certainly do. From the American Bear Assoociation website:

Is it true that a bear's sense of smell is 7
times greater than that of a bloodhound?

Indeed it is. There is perhaps no
other animal with a keener sense of smell. Bears rely on their sense of smell to
locate mates, detect and avoid danger in the form of other bears and humans,
identify cubs, and FIND FOOD. Although the region of the brain devoted to the
sense of smell is average in size, the area of nasal mucous membrane in a bear's
head is one hundred times larger than in a human's. This gives a bear a sense of
smell that is 7 times greater than a bloodhound's. In addition, they have an
organ called a Jacobson's organ, in the roof of the mouth, that
further enhances their sense of smell.

Here are some accounts of how truly
well a bear can smell:

"A black bear in
California was once seen to travel upwind three miles in a straight line to
reach the carcass of a dead deer."

". . . male polar
bears march in a straight line, over the tops of pressure ridges of uplifted ice
. . . up to 40 miles to reach a prey animal they have detected."

"A bear has been
known to detect a human scent more than fourteen hours after the person passed
along the trail."

"A male can
detect which way a breeding female is traveling just by sniffing her
tracks."

Quotes are from The Great Bear Almanac by Gary Brown

Bears use this
keen sense of smell to communicate with each other. By leaving their scent on
trees and vegetation, they are broadcasting their presence to other bears that
may be in the area.

This keen sense
of smell is why you should always be bear aware
when living or recreating in bear country. For
suggestions on living in bear country, click here. For tips
when camping or hiking in bear country, click here.

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About this blog

The Rensselaer Plateau, about 9 miles wide and 20 miles long and covering over 100,000 acres, is New York's fifth-largest contiguous forest. It is one of the largest and most ecologically intact habitats in the United States. Designated a U.S. Forest Service Legacy Area, the trees, vegetation, and elevation (as high as 1,800 feet) are more similar to the Adirondacks than the surrounding region. A steep escarpment marks the Plateau's boundary.
I live on Taconic Lake (elevation 1,650 feet) on the Plateau in the Town of Grafton. Postings on this blog will focus on my nature observations and interesting items relevant to the Plateau and nearby area. And... other stuff that I just find interesting and want to share.

"I can't easily imagine life anywhere else. Sitting in my study, with my books all around me, with my filing cabinets close at hand, looking out on lawn and garden and fields and woods, I know that this is where I belong."Granville Hicks (1901-1982), Grafton, NY, Part of the Truth, page 306.

"We live on a dirt road almost exactly a mile north of the highway, a road that is a pleasure six months of the year and a problem the other six."Granville Hicks (1901-1982), Grafton, NY, Small Town, page 3.

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